labelle@hplabsc.UUCP (WB6YZZ La Belle) (04/22/85)
FROM: Andrew Koenig,
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GEORGE is using an argument of a general type that is often quite
insidious, and is certainly not limited to discussing audio
components (though it is used astonishing often in that context).
I have heard it called the "argument from intimidation."
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AND
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What is the basis for this compulsion? "They are notorious for
IM distortion, and low bass distortion." In other words, everyone
knows Bose speakers are trash.
Well, I don't.
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GEORGE, if your opinion is based on facts, let's see them.
If you're summarizing a review you saw somewhere, tell us where.
If you're merely repeating rumors, say so. If your opinions
come from listening to the speakers yourself, tell us what you
heard, in a way that will let us repeat the experiment for ourselves.
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--Andrew Koenig
Sorry Andy, this is net.audio, not net.flavor-radio! :-) (just
to cover my ass). I'm sorry you didn't know that Bose were "trash" as
YOU put it. I didn't say they were! I said they are a "gimmic" speaker
that should not be classed as true HI FI speakers. They consist of 9
better than average full range drivers over driven on the low and hi
frequency ranges (by about 15 db) with an "equallizer" in order to get
20-20kHz response. Because they are driven so "hard" on the low and hi
ends, they are neccessarlly subject to higher distortion, particularly
in the bass region AND particularly with CD source material.
They are notorious, as I said, for IM distortion. Ask some other
audiophiles. I have listened to them many times before- midrange voices
and cymbals in particular are muddled in the presence of large amounts
of bass. Even some people I know who own them admit their shortcomings,
but like the Bose because of their "spacious" image.
That brings up the main point. Bose claims that 85% of the sound
that you hear in a concert hall is reflected sound. THIS MAY BE TRUE,
however, it is not the whole story. First, I don't even listen to
(actually less than 10%) classical music. (I'm one of those low-lifes
who likes pop-rock.) Second, because bose reflects 85% of the sound
off the rear walls (42.5% left and 42.5% right) in an actual listening
room, there is virtually NO IMAGE remaining. In other words, you cannot
pinpoint in space, where a particular voice or instrument is located
(for those who don't know what imaging is ;-)) THIS IS ONE OF THE MAIN
POINTS MADE IN THE AURAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO CD PLAYBACK SYSTEMS!
A lot of imaging information is suppossed to be contained in the phase
coherance of the playback system. The people who "claim" to hear dif-
ferences between the cd systems say that because of the excessive phase
shift in the filtering process, the images "wander about the stage".
How the hell can you detect that with a speaker system that dosen't
have good imaging?
GEORGE